Jason Derulo, the Haitian of the Hour

By Jonel Juste

The singer, hitmaker, dancer and TV personality Jason Derulo is everywhere. He’s on many TV sets, invited to popular shows; he’s a judge on famous dance and song contests, and his latest song “Swalla” is a smashing hit. Jason is everywhere showing his true colors, the red and blue. For this young generation, he’s surely the Haitian of the hour.

There was a time, the only Haitian we could be proud of in the American music industry was Wyclef Jean. Since the day Wyclef waved the Haitian flag on one of the greatest musical stages in the world, 12 million of people in Haiti and the Diaspora were proud. Many Haitian-Americans suddenly became proud of their roots.

Jason Derulo (Jason Joel Desrouleaux) is surely among these Haitian-Americans inspired by Wyclef Jean, the one who paved the way. The 27-year-old singer, born in Miramar (Florida) to Haitian parents, became quickly famous for his dance moves and his songs. Derulo’s music is generally pop, but also incorporates R&B and hip-hop influences. He has predominantly named Michael Jackson as his inspiration. He is mostly known for hits like “Ridin Solo”, “Watch Say”, “Talk Dirty” “Wiggle”, “In my Head”, and so on, achieving 11 platinum singles. he also collaborated with the greatest in the business.

Today Derulo is the one to wave the Haitian flag. He waved it his last hit “Swalla” (and played some konpa). He shows his red and blue pride on social media; he’s proud of his roots ad show his true colors. Derulo has even been to Haiti in 2014, and he confessed this experienced changed his life. He plans to build a hospital there.